This paper analyzes the performance of the Ethics and Disciplinary Court of Rio de Janeiro state Bar Association (OAB-RJ) from two perspectives: the first is based on a qualitative analysis of the most frequent lawyer misconduct committed in his/her professional activities and outlines an analysis of the administration of punishment by Members of the Court. The second perspective seeks to assess this Court within the internal organizational structure of OAB and its role in legitimizing the political participation of the entity. Therefore, we analyzed the difficult task of achieving a balance between the representational activities of the Bar Association and its political role.